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reprint or license thisDuncan lawyers to seek another delay
NICHOLAS K. GERANIOS
Associated Press
SPOKANE, Wash. - Prosecutors plan to ask an Idaho judge to keep an April 4 trial date for Joseph Edward Duncan III, in part to help 9-year-old witness Shasta Groene.
Lawyers for Duncan have asked that the trial date be moved back to November, to give them extra time to prepare a defense for Duncan, who faces the death penalty for three slayings near Coeur d'Alene, Idaho, last year.
This week, Kootenai County, Idaho, Prosecutor Bill Douglas said Duncan's lawyers already have received one delay and should not be granted another.
Idaho law requires the court to "minimize the length of time the child must endure the stress of his or her involvement in the proceedings," Douglas wrote in a motion filed Tuesday.
First District Judge Fred Gibler was scheduled to hear arguments from the two sides on Thursday in Coeur d'Alene. Other motions, such as bringing a jury from outside the area to hear the case, will be considered in March.
Shasta is the sole survivor of the carnage at her home last May 16.
Duncan is being held without bail in the Kootenai County jail on charges of killing her mother, older brother and mother's boyfriend in an act that authorities said was intended to allow Duncan to kidnap Shasta and brother Dylan Groene, 9, for sex. Shasta was recovered alive seven weeks later, but Dylan was killed.
Duncan's arrest last July and the revelations that he had a long history of preying on children for sex has prompted calls in the legislatures of Washington, Idaho and other states to get tougher on sex predators. Washington voters will also consider an initiative this year that seeks to lock up violent sex offenders for life after a first conviction.
Duncan's lawyers want the trial pushed back in part to wait for a U.S. Supreme Court decision on the insanity defense. Public defender John Adams has asked Gibler to rule that Idaho's ban on insanity as a defense is unconstitutional.
The U.S. Supreme Court is expected to rule on a similar law in Nevada this summer.
In November, Gibler granted a request by Adams to postpone the original trial date of Jan. 16.
Duncan, 42, a registered sex offender from Fargo, N.D., is charged with kidnapping and killing Brenda Kay Groene, 40, her son, Slade Groene, 13, and live-in boyfriend Mark Edward McKenzie, 37.
If convicted on any of the six counts, Duncan could face a death sentence.
Duncan has allegedly been sending letters from the jail to supporters and opponents. Some of those have been posted on the Internet.
In a recent letter, Duncan said God ordered him to return Shasta Groene last July, and described himself as a remorseful man ready to trade places with his victims. He also argued against life or death sentences for sex offenders.
Asked if release of the letters could taint a jury pool, Douglas said he did not think so.
"We'll ensure that a fair and impartial jury is selected," Douglas said.
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Information from: The Spokesman-Review, http://www.spokesmanreview.com
Information from: The Spokesman-Review, http://www.spokesmanreview.com
